AN ACT increasing vehicle registration fees for private passenger vehicles to fund state highway patrol salaries and appropriating funds to provide compensation Increases to members of the state highway patrol.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

PART I. vehicle registration fee increase

SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 20‑4.02 reads as rewritten:

§ 20‑4.02.  Quadrennial adjustment of certain fees and rates.

(a)        Adjustment for Inflation. – Beginning July 1, 2020, and every four years thereafter, the Division shall adjust the fees and rates imposed pursuant to the statutes listed in this subsection for inflation in accordance with the Consumer Price Index computed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The adjustment for per transaction rates in subdivision (8b) of this subsection shall be rounded to the nearest cent and all other adjustments under this subsection shall be rounded to the nearest twenty‑five cents (25¢):

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(11)      G.S. 20‑87, except for including the additional fee for private passenger vehicles set forth in G.S. 20‑87(5) but excluding the additional fee set forth in G.S. 20‑87(6) for private motorcycles.

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SECTION 1.(b)  G.S. 20‑87 reads as rewritten:

§ 20‑87.  Passenger vehicle registration fees.

These fees shall be paid to the Division annually for the registration and licensing of passenger vehicles, according to the following classifications and schedules:

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(5)        Private Passenger Vehicles. –

There shall be paid to the Division annually, as of the first day of January, for the registration and licensing of private passenger vehicles, fees according to the following classifications and schedules:

Private passenger vehicles of not more than fifteen passengers.........$38.75

Private passenger vehicles over fifteen passengers............................. 43.25

An additional fee of six dollars and twenty‑five cents ($6.25) is imposed on each private passenger vehicle registered under this subdivision in addition to the base fee. The Commissioner shall, on a monthly basis, transfer the revenue from the additional fee to the Department of Public Safety. The funds transferred pursuant to this subdivision shall, in addition to any other funds appropriated for this purpose, be used to fund State Highway Patrol salaries.

(5a)      Provided, that Notwithstanding subdivision (5) of this section, a fee of only one dollar and thirty cents ($1.30) shall be charged for any vehicle given by the federal government to any veteran on account of any disability suffered during war so long as such vehicle is owned by the original donee or other veteran entitled to receive such gift under Title 38, section 252, United States Code Annotated.

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SECTION 1.(c)  This section becomes effective July 1, 2025, and applies to vehicle registrations issued or renewed on or after that date.

PART II. appropriation to provide compensation increases to members of the state highway patrol

SECTION 2.(a)  Effective July 1, 2025, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the Reserve for Compensation Increases to provide pay raises for the State Highway Patrol the sum of forty million four hundred thousand dollars ($40,400,000) in recurring funds for each year of the 2025‑2027 fiscal biennium to establish the pay scales set forth in this section.

SECTION 2.(b)  Effective July 1, 2025, the law enforcement officers of the State Highway Patrol shall be paid based upon the following experience‑based annual salary schedule:

Years of Experience                             2025‑2027 Biennium

0                                                     $56,000

1                                                       62,125

2                                                       68,250

3                                                       75,375

4                                                       80,500

5                                                       86,625

6                                                       92,750

7                                                       98,875

8+                                                  105,000

SECTION 2.(c)  Effective July 1, 2025, State Highway Patrol employees who are not subject to an experience‑based annual salary schedule shall be paid at the following rates by rank:

Rank                                       2025‑2027 Biennium

Sergeant                                       $120,750

First Sergeant                                132,825

Lieutenant                                     146,108

Captain                                          160,718

Major                                             176,790

Lieutenant Colonel                        194,469

Deputy Commander                      204,193

Colonel                                          224,612

PART III. effective date

SECTION 3.  Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law.